Garment shoulder ironing device



Nov. 20, 1962 w. MATLOCK GARMENT SHOULDER IRONING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1961 III I III INV EN TOR. d/A/Mc! Mkrzaa BY W J W Nov. 20, 1962 w. MATLOCK GARMENT SHOULDER IRONING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14. 1961 illlllll IIII-IIII INVENTOR. Mama/747A 0a BY W a M United States 3,664,372 Patented Nov. 20, 1962 3,064,372 GARMENT SHGULDER IRSNENG DEVICE Wallace Matiock, 3175 18th St, San Francisco, Calif. Filed Mar. 14, 1%1, Ser. No. 95,556 4 Claims. (Cl. 3899) The invention relates to commercial irons of the kind used in laundries and, more particularly, to irons utilized in ironing the shoulders of garments, such as waitresses uniforms, in which the garment sleeves or shoulders are of the puffed variety.

Heretofore, the ironing of puffed sleeve shoulders has been a tedious and time-consuming task. Although the heated, tear-drop shaped type of shoulder iron has long been available, only a single iron has been utilized in the past, thus requiring that the operator manipulate the garment into numerous different positions to effect satisfactory ironing of the entire puffed portion of the shoulder.

Itis therefore an object of the invention to provide a garment shoulder ironing device which enables the operator' to iron puffed shoulders in a small fraction of the time heretofore required.

It is another object of the invention to provide an ironing device which enables both shoulders to be ironed simultaneously.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an ironing device in which a single operator is capable of ironing a plurality of garments in the same time as was formerly required to iron but a single garment.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide an ironing device which gives a smoothly ironed surface to the fabric.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an ironing device which requires but a minimum amount of manipulation of the garment by the operator.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an ironing device the operation of which can quickly be learned, even by unskilled labor.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide an ironing device which, while relatively inexpensive, is rugged and durable, and has but a minimum of moving parts to get out of order.

It is another object of the invention to provide a generally improved garment shoulder ironing device.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment described in the following descreption and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective showing the device in a typical environment, namely, with a garment installed thereon in ironing position; and

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view, partially in section, with a garment sleeve shown in phantom and with the biasing arm illustrated, by broken lines, in various positions.

While the ironing device of the invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments, depending on the environment and reguirements of use, substantial numbers of the herein shown and described embodiment have been made and used, and have performed in an eminently satisfactory manner.

The shoulder ironer unit of the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 12, comprises a pair of spaced, parallel ironing members 13.

Each of the members 13 is substantially identical to the other. It is therefore believed that a description of one will serve equally to describe the other.

It is to be noted, however, that it is the paired and cooperating arrangement of the two members 13 which greatly extends the practical utility of the device. In other words it is the combination of the two ironing members 13, spaced apart a predetermined distance dependent upon the size of the garments to be ironed, which enables the operator in one quick motion to slip a garment 14 over both the irons and have them serve as a form, or garment model, as it were. It is this cooperation, furthermore, which, owing to the slight tension across the back of the garment exerted by the appropriately spaced pair of members, enables the operator to leave the mounted garment on the irons and to turn his or her attention toward servicing another ironing unit as ironing proceeds on the first unit.

A still further advantage of a properly spaced pair of irons is that the slight lateral tension, across the back of the garment, tends to urge the fabric of the outermost lateral portions 16 of each of the shoulder puffs 17 against the adjacent, underlying outer cheek 18 of the heated iron 19, thus rendering a smooth ironing finish to this lateral portion of the shoulder puff. A single iron, such as has been used heretofore, can effect this result only by the operators manipulating the fabric so as forcibly to urge the outer portion 16 against the iron.

As is shown most clearly in FIGURE 2, the shoulder iron, generally designated by the numeral 19, is approximately tear-drop in shape, and is formed to provide a smoothly rounded forward face 21 adapted to fill out the overlying front portion of the shoulder puff 17. The lateral sides of each of the irons include the rounded outer cheek 18 and a rounded inner cheek 22 (see FIGURE 1), each adapted to fill out and smoothly press the overlying fabric of the shoulder puff 17.

The iron 19 tapers rearwardly and upwardly to follow the upper contour of the shoulder puff 17 as it merges with the garment sleeve 23, the iron terminating in a rounded tip 24.

Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the iron is inclined at the approximate angle shown in the drawings, it having been found that at this angle the downward pull exerted by the weight of the garment, together with the lateral tension created by the pair of irons, the configuration of the shoulder puffs and the shape of the irons, effect a maximum area of smooth contact between the pufis and the irons, and thus achieves an optimum result.

The interior of the iron 19 is open to form a chamber 26 within which is circulated a heating medium, such as steam, the steam being introduced through a vertical inner tube 31 while the condensate is removed through the annulus 32 formed by the outer walls of the inner tube 31 and the inner walls of a vertical outer tube 33.

Conveniently, the vertical tube 33 also serves as a support for the iron, the upper end of the tube 33 being threadably engaged by the lower portion 41, or neck, depending from the iron 19.

The transition portion between the main, tear-drop portion of the iron, and the neck 4-1 is in the form of a shoulder 42. The irons shoulder 42, and particularly the forward portion 43 thereof, is so located and shaped as to receive the top or forwardmost portion 44 of the shoulder seam 4'5.

Biasing the opposite, or inseam portion 47, of the shoulder seam 46 away from the top shoulder portion 44 is an arm 51.

The biasing arm 51 is pivotally mounted on a pin 52 located on the rear end of a bracket 53 clamped to the tube 33, as by fasteners 54. The lower end 56 of the arm 51 extends below the pin 52 and is attached to a tension spring 57 secured to a clamp 58 (see FIGURE I) mounted on the tube 33.

The spring 57 tends to urge the arm 51 angularly rearwardly, away from the iron 19. Serving adjustably to limit the extent of the angular movement is a screw thread 61 threadably engaged in an car 62 laterally extending from the bracket 53, a lock nut 63 enabling the user to lock the screw in the desired location. The tip of the screw abuts a transverse plate 66 secured to the lower end 56 of the arm and determines the extent of the rearward movement of the biasing arm 51.

The arm 51 is so shaped as to provide a shoulder 71 located between the upper, recurved portion 72 of the arm 51 and the lower, linear portion 73 thereof. In the embodiment illustrated the shoulder 71 is expediently formed by bending a stiff piece of metal strap, forming the arm 51, through 90 so that the forward edge 76 of the lower portion 73 of the strap faces toward the tube 33 below the shoulder and is disposed transversely thereto above the shoulder 71, throughout the upper portion 72. Such construction also conveniently permits the curling over of the top end 77' of the arm 51 so as to assist the operator in slipping the sleeve 23 of the garment 14 over the iron and over the upper portion of the biasing arm, the positions of the arm during this operation being shown in outline.

V The shoulder 71 of the biasing arm is located at an elevation such that when the sleeve of the garment has been slipped over the iron and over the biasing arm, the shou1der 71 is approximately at the same elevation as "the shoulder portion 43 of the iron. Thus, the inseam 47 ofthe shoulder seam 46 is in engagement with and is biased rearwardly by the shoulder 71 with'the seam 46 in a substantially horizontal attitude.

The effect of the rearward bias of the arm, acting upon the inseam 47 and thus tensioning the sleeve rearwardly,

is to urge the full forward or upper portion of the shoulder pufi tightly against the iron 19, with a consequently smoothly ironed shoulder pufi.

The fore and aft tension of the biasing arm also augments the garment-supporting capabilities of the spaced pair of irons and, in general, enables the operator, with [one quick movement, similar to that of putting a coat on another person, to slip the garment over the pair of ,irons and, as quickly, to remove the garment upon the elapse of an appropriate ironing interval. During this interval, one or more other units, or stations, can be serviced. I

It can therefore be seen that I have provided a highly useful combination of shoulder irons and biasing arms which is capable of increasing many-fold, and with less operator effort, the output of garments having shoulder puffs to be ironed.

What is claimed is:

l. A garment shoulder ironing device comprising:

a a vertical mounting tube;

1) a tear-drop shaped iron mounted on the upper end of said tube, said iron including a rounded forward portion merging into a depending neck on said iron to provide a forwardly facing first shoulder; an elongated narrow strap of stifi material pivotally mounted at its bottom end on said tube and extending upwardly and rearwardly to a location behind said iron, saidistrap being formed to provide a second shoulder at approximately the same elevation as said first shoulder; and

(1 spring means for biasing the upper end of said strap in a rearward direction.

2. The device of claim 1 further characterized by means for selectively adjusting the extent of rearward movement of said arm.

3. The device of'c'laitn -1 further characterized by a substantially identical structure spaced laterally therefrom a distance such that the opposite outermost surfaces of said irons are effective to stretch and thereby smooth the opposite outermost fabric portions ofa pair of garment shoulder pufis lodged on said irons.

4. A garment shoulder ironing device comprising:

a. a pair of vertical tubes; v

b. a pair of tear-shaped, upwardly and rearwardly inclined irons mounted on said tubes and spaced apart a predetermined distance approximately equal to the distance between the shoulder pufis of a garment to be ironed, said irons being shaped to smooth the shoulder puffs with the garment in normal vertical 4 wearing attitude; and g a pair of spring-biased upwardly and rearwardly inclined arms adapted to bearagainst the inseams of the garment, said arms being pivotally mounted on said tubes and extending upwardly behind said iroris, each of said arms including a shoulder adapted td,

urge the corresponding inseam in a rearward direc z tion, said shoulder being at approximately the same elevation-as the lowermost portion of the corresponding one of said irons the weight of the garment being eifective to conform the upper portion of the shoulder puffs to the underlying upper portion of said irons, the spring biasing of said arms being effective to urge the front portion of the shoulder puffs against the underlying front portion of said irons, and the extent of said predetermined distance between said irons being effective to stretch'and smooth the outer lateral portion of said shoulder puifs against the underlying outer lateral surface of said irons.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 514,601 Mandot Feb. 13, 1939 2,180,942 Leef Nov. 21, 1939 2,184,375 Beede Dec. 26, 1939 2,662,273 Amber Dec. 15, 1953' 2,727,661 Strike Dec. 20, 1955 

